Hunters often use decoys when hunting fowl. These decoys are generally shaped in the image of a game bird such as a duck or a goose, and are placed on the ground or water near the hunter.
Most of the decoy designs which are commercially available are stiff wooden or plastic models designed for floating on a body of water. Once placed on the water, they remain lifeless and move primarily in response to waves on the water. It is well established that birds such as ducks and geese orient their bodies so that they face into the wind, but these standard floating decoys do not turn into the wind.
The attention of birds passing overhead is believed more readily drawn to a moving, animated figure than to a stiff representation of a duck or a goose. An animated decoy would therefore be more effective. Some efforts along this line have involved decoys provided with a flapping wing motion by mechanical means. These decoys use wave action, wind, or manual actuation to drive the wings and include mechanical means, such as levers and springs, which act against the driving force to produce oscillating movement. For instance, U S. Pat. No. 3,435,550 teaches a decoy which includes wing members stiffly mounted on the body. The wings have a central rod which may be bent by a gust of wind and, when the wind dissipates, the rod urges the wings back into their initial configuration. This process continues as long as the wind speed varies, producing a faltering flapping motion. However, if the wind force remains relatively constant, the wings remain bent in an equilibrium position. Fowl hunting decoys which do incorporate flapping wings generally do not include means for orienting the decoys into the wind. This would appear to cause unnatural, unbalanced air flow over the wings of the decoy to result in an uneven flapping motion. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a decoy with life like wing motions which also includes means for directing the decoy into the wind.